Broadway's Newest Shows Are Already Standing Room Only, and More From Last Week's Broadway Grosses

Dog Day Afternoon, Schmigadoon!, Proof, Ragtime, and more were complete sell-outs at the box office.

April 07, 2026 By Logan Culwell-Block

Broadway is positively bursting at the seams, with overall grosses climbing by nearly 12% last week compared to the week prior. The spring season is officially underway, with everything that will be eligible for this year's Tonys already at least in previews, so that's not super surprising—more performances available typically also means more money at the box office. But remember that all of those new shows are also comping much of their houses, getting press in and working to build some good audience word of mouth, which makes those gains all the more impressive.

There are seven weeks to go in this fiscal Broadway season, and we're currently beating last season by 6.6%. Last year was historically high for box offices on the Main Stem, and it certainly appears that number will be bested again this year.

Long-running stalwarts are continuing to stay parked at the top of the list of top grossers—the top five last week were The Lion King, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, Wicked, and Aladdin, all usual suspects for those spots. But much of the season's newest shows seem to really be hitting with audiences and filling seats, which is fantastic to see. This season's Dog Day Afternoon, Schmigadoon!, Proof, and Ragtime were all total sell-outs last week, and The Rocky Horror Show, Every Brilliant Thing, Giant, The Lost Boys, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball all were very nearly on that list, too. That data point, in particular, puts Broadway in an exciting proposition for the weeks ahead, when less tickets will be comped and those same attendance numbers could potentially be bringing in dramatically higher total grosses.

As has been typical, to see the real winners among this season's new crop of shows, take a look at the average ticket prices. Every Brilliant Thing, Proof, and Giant are all nearly sold out and doing so at ticket prices that are dangerously close to $200, which helped bring the overall average Broadway ticket to $129.22 last week. As seen last season, star-driven plays continue to lead the pack there—all three of those titles give theatregoers a chance to see major screen stars live onstage, and audiences are paying more for that experience than they are (on average) for even most musicals. Prediction: this is a trend producers will look to continue recreating next season and in the years ahead, or at least until audiences start changing their minds.

And even looking beyond sell-out territory, all but eight of Broadway's 40 current shows played to houses that were 90% or higher filled, which is pretty stunning. One thing is for certain—what heights this particular crop of shows is capable of taking box-office grosses to has yet to be seen. Things are already in a good spot, so this is exciting news, indeed.

Take a look at the full report here.

The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):